[blparent] Stroller Fail!

[Ronit Ovadia Mazzoni]

Allison,
It's completely ok not to prefer the stroller. I don't prefer the
stroller at all, I never got good at it and it's not something I ever
liked, no matter which stroller I tried. As Allyssa gets heavier, I'd
suggest a carrier that you can do a back carry in. IT's so much better
for your shoulders, you can distribute the weight between your back
and your hips and it's comfortable for long periods of time. Front
carries are really only for the newborn stage
and I never could do it more than a few months. Once Allyssa has good
head and trunk control, which she should have at about 3-4 months, you
can try the back carry. I am not sure which carrier you have but the
beco carriers all can do back carries, as well as the ergo. If those
don't work, you can check out a kinderpack, which was always my
favorite, although they are harder to come by. Tula is another carrier
which can do back carries. I'd see if your local babywearing group has
a library where you can borrow some of these soft structured carriers.
Back carries can be scary at first but if you practice enough, you can
get good at putting baby in and out. I am not a pro but I am much
better than I was when I first started. And it's ok to just forget
about the stroller. Many people just babywear until the toddler years
when the child can be put on a toddler leash or wear bells etc.
Whenever I would go out with my baby and without my husband, I enver
took teh stroller. We have a stroller but only sue it when my husband
comes with me. If you are more comfortable babywearing, I'd say forget
the stroller.
And in terms of getting out, sounds like you are doing an amazing job
of that. Good job for using uber and getting yourself to a mommy and
me meeting. Those outings will keep you sane. It's not unreasonable to
want to do this, it just takes more planning. I did this on occasion
if I really wanted to go to something but once you start meeting more
moms, you might be able to get rides from other moms you meet. Once I
met a mew moms, I would get a ride from a few who weren't my best
friends butw ere willing to give us rides. It was not something I
always felt super comfortable with but the alternative was staying
home and Uber was not even available back then, so I had no other
option.
Just my two cents.
Ronit

On 3/20/16, Allison via BlParent <blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thanks everybody for your replies. My husband and I used the stroller again
> this past Saturday and had a bit more luck. He pulled the stroller this
> time
> and he had more patients for it than I. It is getting a bit less awful with
> practice, but it is still cumbersome. Plus it was kind of a nightmare to
> get
> on and off of the bus. So I still wore Allyssa in the baby carrier most of
> the trip because she and I like that best for now. However, I am genuinely
> concerned that I won't be able to wear her long-term because she is already
> 13 pounds at ten weeks and because I am prone to back pain due to a
> childhood spent hunched over large print books. Wearing is a good solution
> for now though.
>
> Thanks Steve for your description of locking stroller wheels. Yours made
> most sense to me and I'll experiment with that next time we're out.
>
> I liked folks suggestions about umbrella strollers, frame packs, and
> wagons.
> If anyone has any specific brand recommendations I'd love to hear them. I'm
> not sure where to find such items and would appreciate any shortcuts that
> will keep me from much Google searching.
>   	
> Lastly, several folks on this list emphasized that I need not feel
> pressured
> to travel out alone with my baby. Thanks, I appreciate that reassurance.
> Even so, I genuinely would like to be able to travel with just the 2 of us.
> I don't feel I have anything to prove, and I am not opposed to asking for
> help. Believe me I'm happy to travel with a friend, family member,  or
> colleague when it's convenient and I have been doing that when I can. But
> is
> it so unreasonable to fantasize about being able to travel with just me and
> my baby? It is something I enjoy. Sometimes there just isn't anyone else
> available to travel with, and I would prefer not to sit at home simply
> because others aren't free to go out with us. Example, last Tuesday evening
> there was a mom's group meeting that I really wanted to go to. I've been
> there a few times and I enjoy it. I find that going to it helps me feel
> more
> balanced and happy. The first two times I went to it, I had my dad drive me
> and baby.  That was nice while it lasted. However, last Tuesday, my dad was
> unavailable, my husband and best friend were both at work, another good
> friend had plans, and my reader was on vacation. And it seemed a shame not
> to go simply because I didn't have anybody to go with. I would have gladly
> asked for help from someone if I could have thought up someone who might be
> interested and available, but I don't exactly know a plethora of people who
> have so much free time that they can travel with me and my baby each time I
> want to go out somewhere. So since Tuesday's weather was beautiful, I
> gathered my car seat and my front carrier and took Uber to the next town
> where the meeting was. And Allyssa and I enjoyed ourselves so I was glad I
> went. Sure traveling with someone else would have been easier, but I still
> think going just us was better than not going at all. Does anyone else
> agree? Or am I strange for wanting to travel with just me and baby
> sometimes? I don't think I'm trying to make a point about independence, I
> just like getting out.
>
> Anyway, I'm feeling ok with traveling for now, but I am genuinely concerned
> that my ability to wear my baby is finite due to my back problems. It's
> already a bit painful, and baby is only 13 pounds. I've tried 3 different
> carriers so far, and I'm open to trying others, but I suspect that there is
> an end to a thing that I'll reach sooner than I'd like. So I'll need to
> find
> an alternate way to travel with baby eventually, and I'm thinking my wobbly
> Graco stroller may not be it.
>
> Again, tips and suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Allison
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jo
> Elizabeth Pinto via BlParent
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 4:04 PM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Jo Elizabeth Pinto <jopinto at msn.com>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!
>
> I would have been nervous with my tiny baby in a stroller, before her neck
> strength was good.  I used an umbrella stroller when I was walking by
> myself
> for short distances because of its light weight and easy maneuverability
> pulling it behind me, but I wouldn't have trusted it with a very young
> baby.
>
> I didn't travel much alone when my baby was in her early infancy because
> the
> weather was still cold and I had to recover from a C-section, so she had
> gained sufficient neck strength by the time we ventured out into the big
> wide world.  When she was very tiny and I needed to go out, I asked a
> friend
> to go with me and help me carry the baby.  I had made grand plans before my
> daughter was born about how I would use a baby carrier and put the diaper
> bag over my right shoulder with my purse, leaving my left arm free for my
> guide dog, but the soreness from my C-section and the ice left from the
> March weather proved to be too much for me, and neither of the baby
> carriers
> I had bought worked well for me once the baby arrived.  And guess what?
> Nobody cared.  I felt like I had failed the independence test at first, but
> then I realized the only person conducting the test was me.  So to heck
> with
> it.  I got out, I got my errands done, I felt better, Nanna got to see the
> baby, that was all that mattered.  Later on I learned to pull a stroller,
> but learning to ask for help was one of the best things I ever did for
> myself as a new mom.
>
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> "The Bright Side of Darkness"
> is my newly published novel,
> available in Kindle, audio, and paperback formats at Amazon.com.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Judy Jones via BlParent
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 2:42 PM
> To: Blind Parents Mailing List
> Cc: Judy Jones
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!
>
> We didn't even start with our girls in the stroller until they were
> probably
> closer to a year old, plus we used our packs most of the time.  Their
> preference, wanting to be close.
>
> Judy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star Gazer
> via BlParent
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 2:24 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Cc: Star Gazer
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!
>
> Hi Steve. That's why the carseats that snap on top of the stroller are so
> popular, if it is safe for a car, it's safe for a baby at walking speed.
> All
> this being said, I was anxious about having my girls in the stroller when
> they were tiny. I have no idea why.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Steve
> Jacobson via BlParent
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2016 3:53 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List' <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Steve Jacobson <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Stroller Fail!
>
> Allison,
>
> Check the wheels on your stroller.  On some of these strollers, each wheel
> has a lock that keeps the wheel from swiveling left to right.  If all four
> wheels are allowed to swivel, this will cause the exact behavior that you
> are observing.  You would not want to lock all four wheels because turning
> would then become very difficult.  I found that when pulling the stroller,
> it worked best to lock the wheels that are on the end of the stroller away
> from the handle.  When pushing the stroller, locking the wheels nearest the
> handle works best.  However, you might want to experiment to see which
> works
> best for you.
>
> On the strollers I have seen, the lock is sort of a slide just above the
> wheel that cam be moved up and down.  The slide will only lock the wheel
> when the wheel is turned so that the wheel is parallel to the stroller, in
> other words, oriented as they need to be when you are traveling in a
> straight line.
>
> I am almost certain this is the problem you are having, so if you do not
> find any kind of lock, check the instructions in case it is done in a way
> that is not obvious.
>
> In some ways, though, I might be a little hesitant to wheel a baby that
> young around in a stroller.  My kids arrived when they were older, though,
> so I am not a good judge of this.  I only know that when kids are very
> young, you don't always know what they are doing in a stroller.  If they
> can
> be restrained in a way that you feel is safe, this might be an issue.
> However, to have their head at at a bad angle when you hit a bump in the
> sidewalk might not be so great for a baby whose neck strength is not
> completely developed.  However, I'm an old dad whose kids are grown, and
> some of the more current parents here might have better advice.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BlParent [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Allison
> via
> BlParent
> Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2016 10:27 PM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List' <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Allison <allison82 at cox.net>
> Subject: [blparent] Stroller Fail!
>
>
>
> Hi Everybody,
>
> My daughter, Allyssa, is 9 weeks old now. I love my baby. It turns out that
>
> I also love getting out of my house sometimes. I had a lot of great plans
> for this when I was pregnant, plans about how I could successfully get out
> in the world with my child, and I can now safely say that almost none of
> them have worked out. LOL.
>
> I tried a bunch of strollers at a local store before my daughter, Allyssa,
> was born. I bought a Graco Click Connect in the end because it seemed like
> the best balance of usability and affordability that I could find at the
> time. It has a stroller with a car seat that clicks right into and out of
> it. I tested it at the store with my cane and verified that I could in fact
>
> pull it behind me. I also tried it on the sidewalk in front of my house
> when
>
> I brought it home. Great, right? Yeah, only great because it did not yet
> have a baby in it. I tried it with said baby in it last weekend and it was
> less than successful. The stroller now wobbles and wavers when I try to
> pull
>
> it behind me. It is only slightly less awful when I pull it next to me, but
>
> when it's next to me, I worry that my cane arc isn't wide enough to safely
> cover me and baby both because the stroller takes up a lot of space.
> Moreover, the stroller was nearly impossible to manage when encountering
> anything other than a 100% flat surface, and turning or changing directions
>
> was something like trying to heard cats. As a result, I've mostly been
> wearing Allyssa in a front carrier when I'm out. I like this option a lot
> because she's safe, my hands are free, and Allyssa likes it, but I'm
> worried
>
> that my body won't allow me to wear her as she grows heavier. Pretty much
> every carrier I've tried pulls on my neck or shoulders at least a little.
> Sooner or later, I will probably want to travel with her in a stroller. And
>
> so far, the stroller has been a bit of a fail as it zigs and zags all over
> the place. I could buy a new one, but buying multiple strollers will get
> expensive quickly. Does anyone have any solutions for this stroller
> craziness? Does it get better somehow? Will I become that blind mom who
> never leaves the house alone with her kids? Please please tell me that is
> not my future. If I start to think that it is, I may be tempted to drown
> myself in my breast milk. So please share some words of wisdom!
>
> Thanks,
> Allison
>
>
>
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